These Quinoa Cereal are crispy, healthy homemade cereal balls made with leftover cooked quinoa. They are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the center, packed with chocolate peanut butter flavors and perfect for a high-protein gluten-free breakfast.

I am pretty bad at cooking the right amount of quinoa I need for my family and often, I like to create fun, healthy recipes to use leftover quinoa, like my Quinoa Bread, Quinoa Bagels, or Quinoa Crackers.

Ingredients and Substitutions

This paragraph gives you all my tips about picking the right ingredients. For the full recipe with measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post!Go to Full Recipe

You only need 6 simple ingredients to make these cereal balls. Here’s how to pick them.

Cooked Quinoa – The star of the recipe! Use cooled white quinoa for best results. It creates a chewy texture while packing in protein and fiber. Ensure quinoa is completely cooled to prevent a sticky mess.
Oat Flour – Oat flour acts as the binding agent while keeping the recipe gluten-free. Easily make it at home by blending rolled oats into a fine flour. Use certified gluten-free oats if required.
Peanut Butter – Peanut butter adds richness and binds the dough. For nut-free options, swap with sunflower seed butter or tahini.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – To bring a rich chocolate flavor to the cereal.
Maple Syrup – A natural liquid sweetener that enhances the flavor while keeping the recipe refined sugar-free. Alternatives like agave syrup or coconut nectar work well too.
Vanilla Extract – For more flavors.
Coconut Sugar – This is optional, use it to boost the sweetness and enhance the crispiness for those who prefer a crunchier cereal.

How to Make Quinoa Cereal

This recipe is really easy to whip up, here’s how in pictures.

Quinoa Cereal ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.

Pour all the cereal ingredient in a large food processor.

Quinoa Cereal batter in a food processor/

Process the batter until it sticks and forms a large balls.

Roll small grape-sized balls with your oiled hands.

Quinoa Cereal on a baking sheet ready to bake.

Place all the cereal balls on a large baking sheet and bake them for 30-40 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C).

Expert Tips

I have a few more tips to make sure you make the best possible cereal!

Food Processor is a Must – The dough is thick and sticky, so only a food processor with an S-blade can handle it. Avoid using a blender as it won’t form the proper consistency.
Perfect Dough Consistency – The Dough should be sticky yet firm enough to roll into balls. If it’s too wet, add more oat flour (1 tablespoon at a time) until the right consistency is achieved.
Oil Your Hands – The sticky dough can get messy. Keep your hands lightly oiled while shaping the balls. Reapply oil or wash and dry your hands as needed to avoid frustration.
Even Baking – Shake the baking sheet halfway through baking to ensure all sides crisp up evenly.
Cool for Crispy Cereal – Let the cereal balls cool on the baking sheet after baking. They harden as they cool, so don’t skip this step!

Serving Suggestions

These cereal balls can be served in many different ways. These are what I tried so far:

Classic Bowl: Serve the cereal with your favorite dairy-free milk and a sprinkle of fresh fruit like berries or banana slices.
Trail Mix: Combine cooled cereal balls with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit for a healthy, portable snack.
Dessert Topping: Sprinkle over dairy-free yogurt or dairy-free ice cream for a delicious crunch.

More Breakfast Recipes

Grain-Free Granola Recipe

Nut Free Granola

High-Protein Granola

Steel-Cut Oats Granola

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Quinoa Cereal

These Quinoa Cereal are crispy, healthy homemade cereals made with leftover cooked quinoa. They are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the center, packed with chocolate peanut butter flavors and perfect for a high-protein gluten-free breakfast.

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 45

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4 servings (1/4 of the batch)

Calories: 174.1 kcal

Author: Carine Claudepierre

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

▢ 2 cups Cooked Quinoa - cooled in the fridge (note 1)
▢ 1 cup Oat Flour - (note 2)
▢ 3 tablespoons Peanut Butter - (note 3)
▢ ¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
▢ 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup - (note 4)
▢ 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Optional for sweeter cereal that crisp even more

▢ ¼ cup Coconut Sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Prepare two large baking sheets. Mine are 18-inch x 12-inch large (45 cm x 30 cm). Line them with parchment paper and oil with cooking oil spray. Set aside.
In a food processor, using the S-blade attachment add the cooled, cooked quinoa, unsweetened cocoa powder, oat flour, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. For sweeter cereals that crisp even more add the coconut sugar as well.
Process on medium-high speed, stopping the food processor a few times, scraping down the sides of the bowl, and repeating until it forms a sticky chocolate batter.
Lightly oil hands and grab small pieces of dough, roll them into a ball, and release them on the baking sheet making sure the balls do not touch each other. The dough is sticky and that's normal, wash your hands if too messy, dry them, and reoil them before continuing to shape your cereal balls.
Bake the cereals for 30-40 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C) on the center rack of the oven, shaking the baking sheet half way so they bake evenly on all sides.
Remove the pan from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes, they harden as they cool down.
Serve with any dairy-free milk or eat as a snack by themself.

Notes

Note 1: The recipe must use cooled and cooked white quinoa, not warm and steamy. Note that 1 cup of raw quinoa is about 2 cups of cooked quinoa, following your packaging instructions.

Note 2: To make oat flour, add rolled oats to a high-speed blender and blend until thin. I didn’t try other flour and I can’t guarantee it will work with something else.

Note 3: You can use sunflower seed butter or tahini as a nut-free option

Note 4: Any liquid sweetener works, like agave syrup or coconut nectar.

Note 5: These cereals are not very sweet, you can add the coconut sugar to boost the sweetness of the batch and to add an extra crispy texture on the outer edges of the cereal balls. Any granulated sugar like brown sugar, unrefined cane sugar, or even sugar-free erythritol works.

Storage: Store the cereals in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. If they soften, you can re-bake or air-fry them to get their crisp back.

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Nutrition

Quinoa Cereal (Gluten-Free, 6 g proteins)